All Or Nothing (2002) ****

Wow. And I thought Naked (1993) was a downer. Granted, there are some flashes of Mike Leigh's dark humor peppered throughout All Or Nothing (2002)—and there is a hint of hope in its climax—but it's a challenging film to get through, due to its frank portrayal of its characters and their conditions. AON plays very much as a sister piece to Meantime (1984) (my review here)—both films focus on low income British families, both films feature incredibly realistic performances by strong casts, and both films have somber scores by Andrew Dickson. AON can be a depressing experience but, like all the Leigh films I've seen, a very rewarding one—one that turns an eye on characters that in any other film would be relegated to the background.

You can find my Mike Leigh Feature Films Ranked list here.